Broad Bean Hummus with Lemon Zest & Mint

Broad Bean Hummus with Lemon Zest & Mint

Splash of Spring in Winter

“A silk purse out of a sow’s ear if there ever was one”

Nigel Slater on “A green Hummus” , Tender

When last did you hear that idiom? I had to have a little giggle and agree that turning older broad beans into a delightfully bright green hummus was a clever way to spruce them up. Lemon juice and zest (my addition) as well as mint add freshness and little freckles of colour and fragrance.

We’ve had some far from wintery days recently, so I reached for the broad beans I blanched and froze a few months ago made a snack to dunk into with bread and crackers outside on the deck.

I adapted Nigel Slater’s recipe – this is the version with dill. I based my broad bean hummus on his recipe from Tender and it is both an easy and quick recipe.

I thought this delightful hummus would be best showcased on a few elegant charcoal crackers (yes, they contain a very small percentage of charcoal), that I brought from Barcelona. They have the same satisfying creaminess that salticrax do, and provide the perfect canvas for spotlighting a special topping.

Ingredients

160g broad beans

juice 1/2 small lemon

10-12 mint leaves

4 T extra virgin olive oil, plus extra

zest of small lemon

salt, to taste

Method

Boil or steam the beans for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Older beans may need longer cooking. Mine took less time as they were blanched before.

Rinse under cold water and refresh with ice cubes in a colander.

Blitz beans, salt, lemon juice and mint until smooth in a processor or with a hand held stick blender, adding olive oil in a stream until you achieve the consistency you desire. Add more olive oil if needed, and remember a good quality, mild tasting oil makes all the difference.

Once smooth, add zest and taste seasoning. Add more olive oil on top.

Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

Blanching

Add beans to boiling water. Blanch for 1 minute.

Remove and drain immediately under cold water.

Dry well and freeze in a plastic bag, removing as much of the air as possible.

Oh this just makes we want to dance! Beautiful eye catching colours and broadbeans are a particular fave of mine …. add in the lemon zest and mint (my garden is full of it at the moment) sounds perfect … i need a nice crusty panino to smother with it! xxx have an awesome weekend xxx jan

[…] I just love broad beans. Especially baby ones, the ones that you can’t find in the shops because they are picked much later by growers. A few months back I posted about a salad I make with broad beans and burrata. But tonight, owing to the warm weather, I felt like something more like finger food, to have with a glass of King Valley Petit Manseng that we had opened on Saturday night. So with my ipad on my lap, I searched the internet and found a fabulous looking broad bean hummus. […]